11/11/2007

Sunday's New Media Matinee

I know this whole "new media" thing is an emerging technology and asking our readers to try to figure out the complicated YouTubes on a weekend might be foolish on my part, but here it goes:



(Helpful hint for the AMPTP: The play button is the one that looks like a triangle.)

There's a surprise at the end for fans of maniacal cartoon babies. And on the topic of celebrity cameos, not all the cops who were out at Fox Plaza on Friday were on traffic detail.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

What's a triangle?

Anonymous said...

The full Alan Rosenberg speech is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq5liHdXy_o

The alleged addict said...

I really wish that I lived in a state where I could go down to a picket line and actually show my support. Sadly, I don't think most folks around here actually understand. But, coming from someone who dreams of writing in Hollywood, the WGA has my full support, and always will!

Anonymous said...

The American Viewing Public Responds

The American viewing audience doesn't care about your strike. Television as a form of entertainment if over. We don't have respect for your cause or concerns. Don't expect us to care. Our 21st Century Information Society has the attention span of a squirrel. We shall simply turn-off the television, move on to something actually interesting, and never return. Mark my words: Your choice to go on strike will be the beginning of the end of television as a form of entertainment in America. Viewership numbers will never return to their pre-strike numbers. The strikers are wagering that media corporations will bow to them when the episode well runs dry. When a skateboarding dog captures more interest than the highest rated union written television show in history, your industry is done. Viewer created content is the immediate future. Your strike serves as the opportunity for the audience to turn our backs on you forever. We won't miss you. We have already forgotten about you and moved on.

Anonymous said...

If you don't even watch TV, 'Anonymous' then wth are you doing reading and posting on a website devoted SOLELY to the WGA strike?

Anonymous said...

The writers would be in a better position to pressure the studios if they hadn't helped them stockpile scripts in the months leading up to the strike. Huge strategic blunder? Or just another example of the upper 1% getting their "strike money" in the bank, while the rest of the guild and IATSE take it on the chin?

Aleksandr Blok said...

Poetry and novel competition on
http://aleksandrblok.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

The AMPTP better watch out, that Stewie, he means business.

Anonymous said...

Subject: Stop American Idol
Dear Writers,

Right now we should go out to the music community and ask artists not to sell their publishing rights to American Idol. Peter Chernin (Fox) likes to brag how that show is invulnerable to the strike, but almost every word on that show has been written. They are nothing without the hit songs. Let's see how "Un-American Idol" does without writing.

Mike Gibbons
WGA Member
Showrunner

Anonymous said...

I think it's interesting that someone with the "attention of a squirrel" had enough attention to spend on posting a comment at all. But it's nice that in spending the attention you seem to think you lack, you really proved the point of the WGA, which is where if not on television are you going to find your skateboarding dog? Oh wait, that's right on the Internet. And I highly object to your using "Information Society", they were a really cool 80's new wave band and you're obviously a 21st Century idiot.

The Timekiller said...

Thanks for posting this. The sound mix was so terrible on Friday, I didn't hear a single word. I knew there was something inspirational happening, I just couldn't tell you what it was.

simply patti said...

Union Strong!

We are with you.

Anonymous said...

GO WGA!!

Also -- I would nail the shit out of Seth McFarlane.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous,
Enjoy your skateboarding dog. I envy you your simple-mindedness. If only I could be endlessly entertained by 10 second clips of skating animals and guys getting hit in the nuts.
And yes, TV may be going the way of the LP and the evening paper - that's why the WGA is striking to get a share of the revenue from the internet.

Anonymous said...

What happens to the "below-the line" crew people who have NO WORK and no RESIDUAL income while you're striking? Has anyone thought about them?

Anonymous said...

Mike Gibbons said...
Subject: Stop American Idol
Dear Writers,

Right now we should go out to the music community and ask artists not to sell their publishing rights to American Idol. Peter Chernin (Fox) likes to brag how that show is invulnerable to the strike, but almost every word on that show has been written. They are nothing without the hit songs. Let's see how "Un-American Idol" does without writing.

Mike Gibbons
WGA Member
Showrunner

I absolutely agree, They should shut down Americn Idol. Not to hurt the networks, but because I just don't like that show.

Anonymous said...

Thank you celebrities for joining our fight. Giselle Bundchen just demanded writers not get paid in U.S. dollars.

Yair Silbermintz said...

Is there a copy of tom Morello's song somewhere? I'd love to play it on my radio show Tuesday night.

Anonymous said...

One of the reasons this strike has come about is because tv is so good right now. Yes, the ratings across the board are down. But that's primarily due to cable tv, and the increased choices the viewers have. They don't have to tune into the "big three" anymore. Tivos and DVRs are also playing a role in the reduced viewership.

I'm watching more tv now than I used to. There are some really intelligent, stimulating, innovative series on the air. The envelope is being pushed further and further. "Big Love" blew me away last summer. "Dexter" is my latest discovery-wow, totally not what I expected. I've been a die-hard fan of "24" for years-most people don't understand how truly original it is. "30 Rock" is a gem. Of the new shows, I'm enjoying "Samantha Who" and "Life"-they're both unlike anything that's been on tv before.

I know that reality shows like "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars" get big ratings for their respective networks. But these shows fail in one important area-you can't sell a season on DVD. Procedurals, which also garner significant viewship, are not big on DVD either. So what does sell? Only the very best shows. And boy, do they fly off the shelves. People will spend money for the tv shows they love. I know that the first seasons of "24" and "Lost" have each sold about 2 million copies. The second season of "24" has sold a millon, as have the early seasons of "Grey's Anatomy". I recall that last Christmas Fox put out a limited edition box set containing all the seasons of "MASH". Supplies ran low immediately.

I know from reading tv forums that there are "24" fans who don't watch the season when it airs, prefering to wait until the DVD release so they can ingest all 24 episodes in a short period of time.

Should it be so shocking that the writers of these great series want an increase in DVD residuals? No.

Blaggerskin said...

support from Australia, keep them honest!

blaggerskin
http://blaggerskins.blogspot.com/

Blaggerskin said...

Our support from Australia! keep them honest people!

Anonymous said...

For the record, the skateboarding dog guy doesn't even know what's good on youtube.

We don't have to knock user generated content on sites like that to know that the guy who claims to speak for "The American Viewing Public" is a dumbass.

I don't watch tv anywhere but online. Which means I don't watch tv at all, now, until the AMPTP pulls its head out.

Thankfully, there is good beautiful work to be found on youtube--but it's not a substitute for more traditional television shows. Most of the stuff on youtube is inspired by tv--and vice versa.

Which is cool

So stuff it, "Anonymous," if that's your real name, and it might as well be.

No one likes your style!

Anonymous said...

Question: Does this strike mean consumers/viewers will have to pay for internet content on ABC/NBC.com. If that is what this strike leads to then it will be a lose situation. Viewers will not pay a fee to watch TV online. So, the internet viewings will either A) be priced or B) go off completely.

Anonymous said...

@anon 2:01:

I'm part of the American Viewing Public, troll, and you certainly do not speak for me.

This latest treatment of the writers is greed taken to sociopathic levels. I support the WGA in their strike and will not watch any TV (online or otherwise) or buy any DVDs until they get the deal they want and deserve.

I don't have "the attention span of a squirrel," but I do have an independent, rational mind that fully comprehends bullshi#t when I encounter it.

If you would rather watch adolescents trying to one-up each other in gross-out stunts on youtube, have at it. For myself, I'll wait until the brilliant, creative, inspiring shows I used to watch before this mess was forced into being by the AMPTP come back to a TV or PC near me.

I believe you are a corporate shill and worthy of no further attention or comment on anyone's part, least of all mine.

The Mad Dane said...

Its such a shame that the greedy corporations are always trying to maximise their gain at the expense of others. Just another example of why America sucks.

/Jesper

Read my blog at: http://www.why-i-hate-america.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I thought about Ebenezer Scrooge at the outset of this strike. Glad to see Seth MacFarlane is on the same page.

David Grenier said...

The strike and whatever residuals WGA wins through industrial action will not change the way the studios do anything online. Studios know they need to figure out how to make money online, all this garauntees is that the writers (and eventually SAG, DGA and IATSE through their health and pension funds) will also get paid for it instead of just the executives and shareholders at News Corp, GE, etc.

Even if the writers went back to work under a duplicate of the old contract, the studios will STILL be working on how to make money off the internet. They will charge just as much for downloads or put just as many advertisements in no matter how much revenue they have to share. That's because these things are determined by "what the market will bear."

Most likely what you'll see over the next few years, regardless of how the strike plays out, is more and more expiriments with online content (including web-only content that is never broadcast) from both the pay-to-view side and the sponsored-by-advertisers side. Some of these expiriments will work and some will not, and at some point down the road the studios will have this stuff generally figured out and will be raking in money hand over fist, and we'll forget that this was ever an issue.

OldStuff said...

tom morello...he should've got zach de la rocha to sing.lol. anyway so many big people supporting that...I am really impressed with that. Go for it. You deserve it!!

thanks